268 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



possessions. Of course the motion broke up the road we had 

 found across, and we could do nothing but wait. For an hour 

 we were imprisoned on our floe and saw the ice crushed, 

 twisted about, and piled up on either side of the lane and on our 

 little floe. Every minute we expected it to split and let us 

 through. But it held, and when it came into contact with 

 another floe we hurried the sledges across, and by using every 

 opportunity, however risky, we came over, but two and a half 

 hours had been necessary to cover the distance. For about 

 twenty minutes we now made fair progress ; then we were 

 stopped again, this time by high rubble and snow. The light 

 was so poor that it was impossible to see the drifts, and for an 

 hour we stumbled along as best we could, until at last we 

 camped on a piece of "old ice " with high hills on all sides. We 

 found a snug little place well sheltered, and were not sorry when 

 the tent was pitched and preparations were made for the night. 



Our progress to-day was only one mile, and we had not been 

 able to get a single longitude or latitude. Temperature at 

 start 3 C., at noon i C. This warm weather is very 

 bad for us, and it will soon be impossible to do anything at 

 all, with the snow getting too soft and sticky for travelling. 



Sunday, May 5. We had heard a great commotion in the ice 

 during the night, and we turned out filled with evil forebodings 

 for the day's work. Through the tent-flap we could see a dark 

 water-sky over the southerly hills on our floe, and when we had 

 finished breakfast at 5.30 A.M. we crawled up them to see how 

 near the water was. Mr. Leffingwell was the first, and his 

 exclamation of surprise brought us up beside him at once. 

 His astonishment was fully justified, for to the south, beginning 

 within fifty yards of our floe, there was a body of water so 

 extensive that we could only see the ice on the other side 

 through the glasses. Yesterday there was only a narrow 

 strip of water where this immense body was stretching 

 to-day ! There was still great motion in the ice to the east, 

 and in the middle of the little ocean at our feet some large 

 floes were drifting about. To the west we could see no 

 possible way of getting round the water, so Mr. Leffingwell and 

 myself started out to the east to see how the land lay. There 

 also was no possibility of crossing. Large and open lanes or 

 real bodies of water obstructed us in every direction. 



